This book examines state–migrant relations in four countries with a long history of migration, regime change, and democratic fragility: Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Philippines. It uses these cases to develop an integrative theory of the interaction between “diaspora-making” by states and “state-making” by diasporas. Specifically, it tackles three questions: (1) Under what conditions and in what ways do states alter the boundaries of political membership to reach out to migrants and thereby “make” diasporas? (2) How do these migrants respond? (3) To what extent does their response, in turn, transform the state? Through historical case narratives and qualitative comparison, the book traces the feedback loops among migrant profiles, state strategies of diaspora-making, party transnationalization, and channels of migrant engagement in politics back home. The analysis reveals that most migrants follow the pathways established by the state and thereby act as “loyal” diasporas but with important deviations that push states to alter rules and institutions.
Disinhibitory feedback loops for reward and aversion
